


forward, one step at a time

by ticoyuu



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Bad Decisions, Bad Puns, Character Study, M/M, Possibly Pre-Slash, Relationship Study, unhelpful summary, weird burnish physiology speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 11:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21118169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ticoyuu/pseuds/ticoyuu
Summary: lio fotia does some introspection. galo... kind of helps.it's mostly about galo, though. slippage of various things ensues.





	forward, one step at a time

**Author's Note:**

> written entirely on my phone! im mad peeved at mobile backspace tbh
> 
> ...my working title was "lio fotias first winter in a long-ass time where he has to deal with normal people shit like susceptability to popsicleitis"; this fic started there, got really windy, but swerved back(?) haha... ive got a headache 8'""D
> 
> +a bit of speculation/hcs about burnish things & odd musing on galo things that wouldnt leave me be 😳

there are a couple things lio fotia, former leader of mad burnish, has begun to realize the burnish took for granted. 

one: having the fire inside is sort of poetic and a curse all at once, but... it's also really, really practical. winter heating costs are not something burnish have to worry about, which would be nice and useful if they had any home to warm in the first place. as it is, they can camp out in cold deserts and icy caves just fine, though.

(right now, lio has tons of socks, for example. socks and underwear. _socks and underwear._ enough pairs, probably, to kit out the entirety of mad burnish.)

two: burnish are human and obviously still have to eat, but they can get away with not eating for a bit more easily than a regular human. while one would think the promare would only contribute to intense calorie-burning, that... isn't the case, somehow. 

(...but lio didn't- still doesn't- really care about the how's or why's, honestly.)

he assumes it's related to the way their bodies are restored as long as the fire burns. additionally, and this is just a theory, but he could probably also crack a raw egg down his throat and be fine since the promare would do something. maybe cook it, which is pretty neat in theory, but most animal life-forms tend to taste bad raw, among other drawbacks. lio and his burnish friends have some experience with that. 

(...still:

"ain't nobody got time for food poisoning!" 

-gueiro, a couple years ago, during one of those times where they'd really had to lay low and rough it. 'dinner' that time had been some huge desert lizard. it didn't really taste like chicken, though to be fair, it was also kind of medium rare. ...okay, maybe closer to just rare.

...

.....

...right. thinking about those times leads to the third, and most significant thing: with the promare gone and their lives no longer on the chopping block, there's a lot less noise inside his head. in fact, the newfound silence is weird and uncomfortable. lio tries not to dwell on the past; swore it to himself with that fistbump at the dawn of a new world (perhaps even earlier), and all things considered, he's pretty well-adjusted.

yeah... while that kind of baggage-laden history doesn't just disappear, rather than trying to stare down his past it's easier to just look instead at galo thymos, a guy who always looks forward and whose (solidifying, sturdy) presence couldn't be ignored if he tried. for once, the best path forward is also the easiest, and it's a decision he's glad to make. for reasons including: an active effort to move forward, restoring the city, and other things, lio ends up crashing at galo's apartment in the spare room.

("it's not crashing! you're my guest, man!" ...galo protested more (read: all) than he did (read: not at all) at the initial proposal of temporarily repurposing an extra nap room at burning rescue's hq.)

so yeah, for better or worse, there's a lot they're learning about each other. during the recent crisis, they'd teamed up well. ...so very well, that lio had struggled for a bit with letting himself get to know galo beyond his simple outermost layer. the self-proclaimed 'no. 1 firefighting idiot' is straightforward and honest, that much is obvious. but he's also not nearly as simple as just that. 

(lio struggled for a while, because that sense of  _ when will the other shoe drop? _ when things are going too well, is something that's hard to lose after spending most of his life as a shepherd on the run. 

at this point, he's also well aware of that galo thymos falls under the same category.)

\-----

a little list of weird, unimportant things:

galo likes spicy pizza, so spicy that when he's invited along with burning rescue for the first time, the first bite makes lio feel like the promare are back, specifically burning up his mouth and throat. it's manageable, until he sneezes, and oh, _yikes._

("hey, woah- drink water! ...uh..." 

galo's face hovers like a giant, watery blob before dipping out of gis view. there's the sound of someone scrabbling about on their table-- good grief, his eyes are actually watering.

"wrong! water won't-! no no no! ...uh, hold on. for now...," and that's aina, handily shoving a plain, no garlic breadstick in lio's mouth before running off to the kitchen in search of something more helpful. nearly a month into the city's rebuilding, there's no hesitation in her step and she doesn't look back.

...he blows his nose on a napkin, lost in thought. they're all so spirited.

\--this camaraderie is familiar. lio smiles to himself and hopes meis and gueira are doing alright.)

\-----

(when lio made his promise with galo to the backdrop of a fiery sunrise, meis and gueira had found him after and they'd, well, talked. the three of them- the last three, kind of-- were high on adrenaline and giddy on a victory 30 years coming. it wasn't really about anything in particular, but they'd finally said goodbye to all the unmourned.

later, their plans diverge. lio is staying-- meis and gueira branch off on their own. lio is intrigued by the prospect of starting a new journey, metaphorically speaking. meis and gueira mean it more literally.

\--they're also probably thinking something inappropriate about their boss and his reasons for sticking around. lio  _ knows _ those two. for what it's worth, he hopes they have a happy honeymoon. they deserve it  _ and _ it's also been a long time coming; 'cause yeah, lio thinks about it and gives a small laugh, he really does know his two best friends.

...he also knows himself well enough to admit they're totally right. that being said, sparking an instantaneous connection has little bearing when judging the prospective connection's long-term possibilities. lio decides not to think about it and just-- just go. he's resolutely  _ done  _ with daily planning four moves in advance. 

also, lio has doubts as to whether galo plans  _ anything _ in advance, but it seems to work out well enough for him?)

\-----

secondly, and perhaps most shockingly, galo thymos has an indoor voice.

(sometimes he chatters... comments, narrates to himself while winding down, or absentmindedly doing some task. it kinda feels like an acoustic version of his rambunctious public monologuing. once, lio wakes from a comfy, lulling afternoon nap on the couch to galo's voice, very quiet, very comfortable. ...and if he's gonna be honest, the low almost-murmur  _ does _ things to him.

it's a weirdly soft and bubbly feeling that lio isn't really used to.)

galo is also actually pretty observant. which probably should be expected from a firefighter, but he's.. you know... galo thymos.

(galo heard him shifting and turned around, the apologetic grin on his face communicating just as much as his words. sometimes more, because honestly, galo says a lot of weird shit at times. 

lio cuts in before he says anything, "you didn't wake me up."

\--a small smile slides across his lips and lio feels somewhere between warm and amused, but overwhelmingly and most importantly, a steady feeling of ...stability, of contentment hums in his veins. a warmth, a voice; similar concepts somehow totally different from the pulse of flames that once burned within.)

\-----

he feels galo watching him, sometimes. 

what he likes or doesn't; what's he finds comfy or not- lio's  _ good _ at only showing what he wants others to see. ...or at least he thought that was the case. kind of ironically, galo is shockingly observant to lio's quirks and preferences. maybe he's just looking for different tells than most. lio wouldn't be surprised if the cogs in his head are just as unconventional as his choices in personal aesthetic.

(...and then he goes and leaves the key ring in the mailbox, _ again _ , and lio snags it on the way back feeling like he might have to reconsider his voluntary rescinding of the title, "no. 1 firefighting idiot".

\--he's never gonna be bored around galo, that's for sure.)

\-----

lio could list things about the other burning rescue members, too-- in various groupings, or solo-- and maybe, like, 30 more things about  _ just _ galo. but in all honesty lio isn't really a people person and it's... well. it's fun and he likes this new definition of 'usual' much better. 

\--it still doesn't change the fact that so much social buzz is really exhausting; combined with firefighter training and helping with the city's restoration, it makes him keenly aware of the promare's absence.

putting it bluntly, lio is really freaking tired. 

\--it doesn't feel like a negative, though. he thinks it's kinda humanizing. tireless leaders don't drift off in the middle of rummaging through the bathroom cupboard for toothpaste.

(galo stocks his apartment with flaming cinnamon and obnoxiously bright blueberry and lio has some serious doubts about those choices, but, hey. there's a lot less of the cinnamon left so lio goes with the offensively fake-sweet blueberry, because it's barely used.)

it's early, just 8 at night. lio is still on his feet, but honestly... it might just be reflex keeping him upright. there's this sensation that keeps coming back, a weird, vaguely dissociative frizzing-out-of-his-body for a couple seconds phenomenon. he's pretty familiar with it, except it used to be just when he set too many things on fire at full-force all at once; right now, the former burnish leader thinks, there's no fire, but he really might lose an encounter with a sewer rat at this point.

(galo's apartment is pleasingly, and a little surprisingly, pest-free.

good, because he  _ has _ become increasingly aware that inner city rats are nasty fuckers, except lucia's pet. that one he likes.)

it's been snowing all day. people say it'll probably become a minor icestorm.

being indoors while that happens just audibly outside is kinda calming, oddly enough; even to him. amidst his exhaustion it makes a very convincing case for falling asleep right where he stands.

in fact, lio is out of it enough ( _ relaxed enough, really) _ to somehow not register all of the following: 

galo coming through the front door- plus the wind, howling in the background before he shuts the door- 

galo announcing his presence as usual, an uncharacteristic period of silence, and even-

\--galo coming up behind him until a  _ cold fucking hand _ is pressed to the back of his neck.

\-----

lio's pulse jumps and he backhands the no. 1 firefighting idiot full force out of sheer muscle memory. but he does manage to rein it in, and galo gets away with only the side of lio's fist and forearm to the gut.

(lio's really soft for him, huh. if someone grabs him from behind, there's no room for thought. no  _ time _ for conscious action. lio's survived this way, a wanted terrorist with the dramatic epithet 'mankind's worst enemy', for  _ years. _ )

\--galo yelps and hops back. he's wearing a lot more than usual, and his face is obscured by the big jacket's collar. lio's a bit concerned until he recognizes the head-down trembling as laughter that galo ultimately fails to contain. 

"w-worth it..!" galo wheezes between laughs. 

"if it weren't you," lio grabs the fist he's still making with the other hand and mimes a quick step in to smash his elbow in the soft part of galo's gut.

he's, predictably, not chagrined at all and aside from peeling down his wet collar and giving his hair a shake, eyes him without moving. "is that a challenge?"

lio notes dryly, "...how very in character, galo thymos." 

oh yeah, he's awake now. this is his favorite part of 'new norm' the most; this, er... in galo's words, 'letting out their blazing souls, but like, friendly-like'. 

("uh... competing? you are... proposing we spar, or..?"

"competition, yeah i guess! dunno. i just felt really alive the first time we fought, ya know? 's a good feeling. though uhh, ignis threatened to glue my boots to the floor after if i didn't sit down and shut up."

...and then lio laughed so hard he'd had to lean on the wall.)

\-----

that said, they haven't actually had a chance yet to spar  _ man to man, human to human _ ... or.. something like that. galo is a lot bigger, but lio is more agile- plus experienced- and strength doesn't necessarily mean advantage. lio prides himself on being as slippery as a raw and freshly cracked egg. also, it'd be a fat lie to say he doesn't find the idea just as intriguing. he hmms thoughtfully. 

"i'm down," he comments all nonchalant before galo can respond, and lets a ( _ noticeably _ less menacing) smirk settle over his face like it's the old times. "right now i'm half asleep, so you might actually have a chance."

lio shakes his head and taps his feet a couple times, stretching on the way out.

...well, going outside is completely out of the question. luckily, the living room is mostly bare due to not really being used as a room; for living or otherwise. so in a decision that is definitely not lio's wisest moment, they square off in there.

galo sheds layers until he's down to one.

"are you gonna keep that on, then?" lio gestures at the other's (clinging) wet t-shirt. his pants seem to be fine though, thanks to the firefighter gear he's always wearing just half of. 

(is that even allowed?? it seems like the kind of thing that'd be against regulations. then again, good luck with that in general when it comes to _him._)

"hm? so you want me t' get naked?"

_ yeah, that sounds good.  _ "...you know what, nevermind." 

he's not THAT dense. lio kinda has to wonder if he's being fucked with. ...you never really know with galo.

\--he just takes his stance and waits for the larger man to make the first move.

as it turns out, about a minute in, lio realizes he's sorely underestimated the freezing sleet soaked in the fibers of the other's clothes. (in hindsight, he supposes, galo thymos wearing an actual shirt-  _ and more! _ \- should've been warning enough. even if he's an idiot who wears a fucking snow jacket but doesn't zip it up all the way.

...was this a calculated move?)

\-----

(lio has never been fond of cold. for the burnish, it's kind of a given. but while unpleasant, 'cold' wasn't really the reason. ...it's the ice; that terrifying sensation when the  _ life _ in his veins slows to a crawl. the _ lockdown _ is what he hates.)

\-----

"what was 'at about 'half asleep', ya sure it wasn't 'full asleep'?" galo stops bouncing around like lucia's rat on infernal ... _ inferNO _ pizza to glance him up and down.

lio's response to the taunt is to glower like he's trying to defrost galo's freezing """armor""", which is actually just a (cold, wet) shirt and (mostly dry) pants, with the sheer intensity of his glare. 

galo is dripping on the floor. this is probably a safety hazard. alas, lio is no longer capable of actually emitting fire from his person. 

(galo's teasing taunts are like every other aspect of him: 99% bark, because he's a guy whose bites and barks are 99% separate modes. first encounter: ...bark; in the cave, neither; when he tried to kill kray, bite. and afterwards: bite, bite, bite; but all of those times were for lio, not against.

\--it makes him kinda warm inside.)

maybe galo and himself are kinda alike, actually. since the reason he keeps flinching away from making contact with galo's wet, chilly figure is literally just because it's annoying and feels  _ uuuughh _ against his skin. on a semiconscious level, lio's aware his body refuses to take the match seriously.

...or maybe he's just _that _tired after all. second wind, _what _second wind... he'd prefer to think about that later. maybe not at all. is it really even necessary to address? it feels like it'll lead to an foregone conclusion he's not totally ready for.

(...at least now lio has an excuse ready for when people inevitably ask about his gloves.)

\-----

lio opens his mouth to respond, but only gets out a huge five-second yawn. 

galo smiles kindly, as always. "y' wanna break til tomorrow?" 

his big hands are already relaxed behind his head. its not really a question, per se, but lio has no protests anyway and starts making his way back to the bathroom. he's too tired for this anyway and shouldn't have agreed in the first place. if you force yourself to do more than your body can handle- which, to be fair, isn't something he's unused to ignoring- well... negligence of your personal condition can be dangeroAaaAaAA _ AAAAaah _

_ "FUCKING socks!"  _

-is out of lio's mouth before he consciously registers what's happening; 

thankfully he hasn't taken more than a couple steps (into a small puddle) and galo is close enough to break his fall. he's thankful, yeah. even if the slip hazard is entirely galo's fault.

...aaand even though he's currently laughing so hard lio can  _ feel _ his annoying, now twice savior's dumb ass quaking behind him. galo's strong arms are hooked under his armpits and bracing him upright. it's uncomfortable and damp and lio's too annoyed and tired to care that he can feel galo's abs and pecs against his back, ... _ wet clingy sticky uuughhh _ is about it. 

"so even you get tripped up sometimes, huh?" 

"...oh, fuck you," lio's eyes are narrowed but he opens them all the way to glower at galo, nevermind that he's behind lio, and-

\--and is..? currently pointing both hands curled into double finger guns down towards lio's feet.

"fuck  _ wool _ , ya mean? hahahhahhy _ yoWwch _ ...!"

lio tries to stomp on his toes. unfortunately, his feet are presently clad in thick fluffy (damp, gross) socks that he'd completely forgotten about. 

it's completely ineffective. lio knocks galo's shin with his heel instead. he acknowledges he's being rather petulant.

\--lio settles for closing his eyes again, and deflates, but-  _ haha what's a hot air balloon without fire?  _ briefly cuts through his mind in a suspiciously familiar voice- 

lio just lets go of his body weight with a sigh, and lets himself sag limply in galo's arms.

**Author's Note:**

> ...there is more to this!! probably (corny) porny now that i got the obligatory buildup outta the way. 8D
> 
> at least, there was more stuff i wanted to write. mostly bad puns and lio swimming in a bazillion oversized sweaters.
> 
> listen, i live in hawaii so, like... It Is Hot and thats all were used to tb h aAAaaAa// 
> 
> generally speaking, locals are weak and will not survive the winter (zero metaphor here LOL) and i refuse to believe this tiny heat-accustomed twink wouldnt be a suffering icicle-clothes gremlin in low temps with the promare gone
> 
> ;;;my friends with his build start dying at 68 ragelaughcrymoji


End file.
